EU referendum, brexit and the aftermath

No. The UK is withdrawing VAT refunds for all visitors.

Which has the luxury goods trades up in arms because of significant sales made due to the “VAT free for tourists” thing, but Fuck Business.

Anyone know whether a French photographer coming to London to do some freelance work will need a visa or work permit?

Baffled.

I would think yes, and a carnet for the gear - but customs and excise are not doing anything for six months so who knows?

Anyone know whether a French photographer coming to London to do some freelance work will need a visa or work permit?

Cant freelance, has to be employed by a company who has license to sponsor migrants and needs to be issued Certificate of Sponsorship then apply for a Visa. Also has to be paid appropriate amount outlined by Home Office.

He supported Remain then threw a wobbler afterwards in 2017.

I really don't know if he tried to make it clear to Boris his lies from the start when he went into journalism are unacceptable, his brothers and sister seem ok people.

There was a docu on Dutch TV about Boris. He was bullied at school (not posh enough) leading to his attention seeking character, but his temper and lies were already clear during his EU "journalism" career.

Maybe he's a bad egg, maybe a damaged person...maybe both. I don't know enough really and parents can't work miracles.

The anti EU crap he started and encouraged all the time led him to this position as pm, thanks to many enablers around him. It's not just him...

That he didn't permanently got barred from politics after sharing a journalist address with somebody who wanted to beat the man up I find quite something.

Stanley doesn't seem somebody with hard principles to me, yet another opportunist.

Boris was remain also, however shifted quite quickly in 2016, mainly political gain probably

Not before time. I never saw the logic that you shouldn’t pay VAT by virtue of being a tourist.

Thanks. That sounds straightforward and sensible.

A message from said photographer:

So I’ll just come as a tourist and ask that they pay me cash

So I’ll just come as a tourist and ask that they pay me cash

A wise man once told me, NEVER speak about your personal visa situations in public ;)

To be clear, it’s not me but I work alongside him occasionally. The company we work for won’t be taking any risks I wouldn’t have thought.

I know loads of photographers who are supposed to be shooting weddings in France and Italy etc this summer who have no idea what hoops they’ll have to jump through.

maybe they can set up a company here?

has to be employed by a company who has license to sponsor migrants

He could but as you point out, the above sounds a massive ballache.

i'm not sure that's right. does it not depend on how he's billing the client? if he's an external supplier then do you really need that level of paperwork?

my team did video shoots in norway and south africa in the past and don't recall getting anything special.

I never saw the logic that you shouldn’t pay VAT by virtue of being a tourist.

I think it boils down to making the UK a more attractive tourism destination. We all pay VAT initially and some things for tourists are tax-refundable, and not every tourist goes thru the process of getting a refund. It makes buying stuff in the UK a more attractive deal, businesses get more tourist £, and the Govt. is still getting part of that money via taxes in businesses.

The thing I've always wondered is how much of the VAT refunded goods are declared for whatever duty and local VAT is due when imported at the other end.

That's the "theory" of it... no VAT in the UK as it's for export but VAT at the other end.

The thing I've always wondered is how much of the VAT refunded goods are declared for whatever duty and local VAT is due when imported at the other end.

Good question, I’ve no idea but I’m sure there have been studies on it. Lots of countries have tax exemptions on importation of personal items by travellers (clothes, a bike, a laptop...), so I’d expect those countries focus on large undeclared imports meant for re-sale. In those cases, it’s in the interest of both the country exporting and the country receiving the goods to identify who’s evading their taxes. That’s one of the reasons the UK has/had a requirement that clothes purchased here be for the traveller’s personal use. (Edit-to qualify for tax refund).

That's the "theory" of it... no VAT in the UK as it's for export but VAT at the other end.

Also this. Avoids ‘double taxation’.

Temporary importation while on a trip is different to going on holiday, buying loads of stuff and taking it home. You can't for example buy a MacBook in Nashua, NH [1] when on holiday and bring it back to the UK without declaring it and yet many people do. Lots of advice online to ditch the packaging just in case you get checked.

[1] 0% sales tax in NH. Cross the state line from MA and it is full of shopping malls. Or at least that was the case when I was there more than a decade ago. I never understood what the rules on cross state sales tax were, I think some states require similar declarations and payment.

Temporary importation while on a trip is different to going on holiday, buying loads of stuff and taking it home.

Yes it is but I think you’ve misunderstood. Some countries do let you buy loads of stuff for yourself on holiday (ex., in the UK) and take it back without an import charge.

Edit to add UK relevance.

John Oliver called him a moral windsock which sounds fitting.

It's ok to change ones view, for those two there really seems to be no reasoning behind it though bar self interest dressed up as general interest.

Cross the state line from MA and it is full of shopping malls.

Luxembourg border areas are full of petrol stations selling tobacco and booze. All three items are low tax items here, but not so much in Belgium/France/Germany. A French MP recently put forward a draft bill proposing that cigarettes must be consumed in the same country they were bought. Not sure how they plan to enforce it but supposedly the lockdown where French people were unable to buy cigs here added 2B euros to the French coffers in tax so I guess they think it might be worth a try.

A musician from the USA got slammed into UK immigration jail when she said she'd play a cash only gig in Ireland.

My partner told me, a musician mate if him told him. (My partner used to play small gigs before lockdown in Belfast and played in Ireland too)

Be very very careful.

I've never quite had the motivation to find the rules of other countries I'm not resident in. Would be interesting to see some examples or a table if you know of one. The US seems to be $800.